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EDITORIALS
Jul 7, 2004

Constitution remains a major issue

The debate over constitutional reform -- supposedly a crucial issue in Sunday's Upper House election -- remains low-key even as the campaign enters the home stretch. It is fairly clear, though, where main parties stand on this subject -- particularly on war-renouncing Article 9. This election, therefore,...
COMMENTARY
Jan 27, 2004

Changing the Constitution

Constitutional revision looms as a major political issue in Japan. It was a key agenda item at the January conventions of the two largest political parties, the Liberal Democratic Party and the Democratic Party of Japan. The LDP decided to draw up a revision plan in 2005, the 50th anniversary of the...
Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
Jun 14, 2023

How the climate crisis is supercharging Japan’s rainy season

When you think of natural disasters do you think of guerrilla rainstorms, landslides and heatwaves? You should, since that’s in the forecast for Japan’s climate-crisis-charged rainy seasons.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is greeted by Abdulla bin Touq Al Mari, the UAE's minister of economy, during a reception in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Monday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 20, 2023

Kishida's Middle East visit creates an opportunity for Japan

Kishida visit shows Japan's policy vis-a-vis the Middle East is shifting from the traditional energy-securing economic diplomacy to a more strategic foreign policy.
Employees of a fishing net manufacturer, including Ainu Indigenous people, work at a facility in Urahoro, Hokkaido, in June.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET
Jul 23, 2023

In Hokkaido, an Ainu group's lawsuit and climate change converge on salmon fishing

The Raporo Ainu Nation in Hokkaido is fighting for its Indigenous rights to fish for salmon. But warming waters are raising questions about future fish stocks.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy holds a news conference during a NATO leaders summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, on July 12.
COMMENTARY / Geoeconomic Briefing
Jul 27, 2023

Volodymyr Zelenskyy: From a weak anti-war leader to a symbol of the fight for liberation

Shifting away from direct negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukraine's leader has called for weapons and galvanized national unity in the face of war.
U.S. President Joe Biden, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean leader Yoon Suk-yeol attend a photo op on the day of trilateral engagement during the Group of Seven summit at the Grand Prince Hotel in Hiroshima on May 21.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Aug 16, 2023

Biden, Kishida and Yoon look to ‘institutionalize’ trilateral ties

The leaders will agree to hold three-way summits at least once a year, in addition to conducting more joint drills and boosting intelligence-sharing.
Angels two-way player Shohei Ohtani has a torn UCL, the team announced on Wednesday night.
BASEBALL / MLB
Aug 25, 2023

Will Ohtani’s injury pick his pocket in free agency?

Baseball’s history-making two-way player has a torn ulnar collateral ligament.
A woman stands under surveillance cameras on a riverside, during the National People's Congress in Shanghai on March 7.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 3, 2023

China to its people: Spies are everywhere, help us catch them

China’s ruling Communist Party is enlisting ordinary people to guard against perceived threats to the country.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 7, 2023

Taiwan’s ‘silicon shield’ against China is an illusion

China may be reliant on Taiwanese semiconductors, but that doesn't stop Beijing from harboring a military takeover.
Visitors inspect a BYD electric sedan at a motor show in Munich
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 14, 2023

Did Europe just start a trade war with China over electric cars?

The EU launched a probe into Beijing’s financial support for the EV industry amid fears that Chinese exports are putting auto jobs at risk.
A Chinese warship fires toward the shore during a military drill near the Taiwan-controlled Matsu Islands, which lie off the Chinese coast.
WORLD
Oct 21, 2023

China weighs options to blunt U.S. sanctions in a Taiwan conflict

The sanctions against Russia have prompted Chinese economists and geopolitical analysts to examine how China should mitigate extreme scenarios.
The site of the al-Ahli Arab Hospital after a blast ripped through the facility on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 22, 2023

In global conflict zones, hospitals and doctors are no longer spared

Over the last two decades, medical facilities and staff have become casualties of war more frequently, in violation of international law.
PRESS
Oct 23, 2023

The Japan Times wins two gold at WAN-IFRA Asia Media Awards 2023

The Japan Times, Ltd. (Chairperson, Publisher and President: Minako Suematsu) is a double Gold award winner (small-medium company category) in the World Association of News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) Asia Media Awards 2023.
Samples of The Japan Times winning news coverage, recognized by the World Association of News Publishers Asian Media Awards.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Oct 23, 2023

The Japan Times wins two gold at WAN-IFRA Asia Media Awards 2023

The Japan Times, Ltd. (Chairperson, Publisher and President: Minako Suematsu) is a double Gold award winner (small-medium company category) in the World Association of News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) Asia Media Awards 2023.
A banner at the entrance to Shibuya’s Center Street makes it clear this is no place for a party.
PODCAST / deep dive
Oct 26, 2023

The specter of Itaewon has Shibuya spooked

One year on, Elizabeth Beattie joins us to discuss where Itaewon stands after its Halloween disaster, and what its legacy means for celebrations in Japan.
Christopher Nolan's film about the creator of the atomic bomb, "Oppenheimer," was released in theaters worldwide this summer and received mostly strong reviews. However, distributors still have not announced whether the film will be shown in Japan's cinemas.
CULTURE / Film
Oct 28, 2023

Will Japan ever see 'Oppenheimer' screened in its cinemas?

Christopher Nolan’s film about the creator of the atomic bomb still doesn't have a Japan release date. There’s more than one possible reason for that.
"The Ones Left Behind" documents the successes and struggles of single mothers in Japan.
PODCAST / deep dive
Nov 2, 2023

Why single mothers in Japan have been left behind

Filmmaker Rionne McAvoy joins us to discuss the hidden poverty present in one of the world’s richest nations.
Britain's former Prime Minister and newly appointed Foreign Secretary David Cameron walks outside 10 Downing Street in London on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 13, 2023

Sunak brings back Cameron and sacks controversial interior minister

The return of David Cameron suggests the prime minister wants to bring in a more centrist, experienced hand rather than appease the right of his party.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 17, 2023

Ichikawa Ennosuke IV given suspended three-year prison term

The 47-year-old, whose real name is Takahiko Kinoshi, had been on trial over his role in a family suicide pact.
Almost two years into the grinding war, Ukrainians are coming to terms with the prospect of a much longer and costlier conflict than they had hoped for, and one that some now acknowledge they're not guaranteed to win.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 28, 2023

Ukraine strains to bolster its army as war fatigue weighs

Ukrainians are coming to terms with the prospect of a much longer conflict than they had hoped for and one they may not win.
Digitally blurred screens at the Pyongyang General Control Center of the Korean National Aerospace Technology Directorate are seen on Nov. 22, a day after the launch of a rocket carrying a military reconnaissance satellite, in Pyongyang.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 3, 2023

North Korea spy satellite operator to report findings to military

Pyongyang said that the newly formed reconnaissance satellite operation office had begun its mission on Saturday.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Reno, Nevada, on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 19, 2023

Diplomats gird for 'doomsday' as prospect of Trump presidency looms

If he were to win a second term, Trump is likely to install loyalists — meaning his whims and isolationist policies would be easier to enact than before.
Members meet for a United Nations Security Council meeting on Ukraine on July 17. Between the carnage in the Middle East and a permanent member of the Security Council waging a war of aggression against its neighbor, there is ample reason to doubt that a consensus on U.N. reform is reachable.
COMMENTARY / The Year Ahead
Dec 31, 2023

The outlook for multilateralism in 2024

What matters most in the coming year is whether global issues can still be addressed simultaneously and in unison.
The Gunung Padang pyramid site in Cianjur, West Java, Indonesia, on Dec. 22. A study that concluded it may be "the oldest pyramid in the world” is under investigation by its publisher after fueling debate over the age of the partially excavated site and the ethics of archaeology.
WORLD / Society
Jan 7, 2024

‘World’s oldest pyramid’ in Indonesia? A study draws skepticism

Some have suggested that the site may have been built far earlier by an as-yet-undiscovered ancient civilization.
The continued demand for and access to banned Nvidia chips underlines the lack of good alternatives for Chinese firms despite the nascent development of rival products from Huawei and others.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 15, 2024

China's military and government acquire Nvidia chips despite ban

The sales by largely unknown Chinese suppliers highlight the difficulties Washington faces.
Photographer Robert Beck took the famous photo of Brandi Chastain celebrating the United States' victory in the Women's World Cup final in 1999 that appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated.
SPORTS
Jan 25, 2024

The Sports Illustrated cover, a faded canvas that once defined sports

Sports Illustrated's power to define sports discourse been steadily eroding, but it is hard to overstate the power it once had.
Celebrations mark the Dalai Lama's 80th birthday in Dharamsala, India, in July 2015. The question of who will succeed the Tibetan leader, Tenzin Gyatso, now 88, looms large.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 29, 2024

Atheist China should have no say in Dalai Lama's reincarnation

Beijing views the Dalai Lama as a wolf in sheep's clothing. Why, then, is it obsessed with controlling the succession of someone it despises?
At the heart of European Union thinking about economic security is fear that economic dependencies will be weaponized.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 30, 2024

EU’s dilemma: balancing national and economic security

At the heart of EU thinking about economic security is fear that economic dependencies will be weaponized.
The Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) is seen on the surface of the moon in an image released Jan. 25.
PODCAST / deep dive
Feb 2, 2024

Japan’s historic moon landing was right on target

Japan made history last month when it became the fifth nation to soft land on the moon.

Longform

Rock group The Yellow Monkey played K-Arena Yokohama in June as part of a nationwide tour. Concerts are increasingly popular in the age of social media as users value in-person experiences.
Inside Japan’s arena boom: Sports, sound and city-building